Chapter 109 High School Career
In the classroom of Tianshui County No. 1 Middle School, the teacher was assigning homework for the week, but the students seemed a little absent-minded.
Outside, the sky was overcast and the winter snow was falling.
This heavy snow has been falling for a week.
Gu Shengtian leaned against the window, looked at the sky outside, and began to worry.
Children like them who came from the countryside to study in the county usually brought dry food from their hometown in colorful nylon net bags, with each person bringing two bags, which was enough food for a week.
Every morning, we would hand in the dry food in nylon net bags to the school kitchen. After lunch, we would go and get our own. It would be warm in our hands and perfect to eat with pickles.
Today is Saturday, and I should go home from school in the afternoon. By now, my mother should have started kneading dough to prepare dry food for me and Fubao for the next week.
But how can we go back in this weather?
The teacher told me that the streets outside were frozen, with a thick layer of ice, and people would slip if they walked on it.
I also heard that the frozen snow on the road outside the county has melted a little, and the road has become a muddy road. A few days ago, a bullock cart passed by, and the ox's hooves slipped and overturned directly into the ditch on the side of the road, causing serious injuries.
There have been strong winds these past two days, and rocks from the mountain have slid down, smashing the road again. Several large trees on the roadside have fallen down.
So the commune closed the road, saying it was to prevent further casualties. The road was not allowed to be used for the time being. When the heavy snow stopped, people were sent to clear the snow and rocks.
This caused great worry to those entering and leaving the city, especially the children.
I can’t go home this weekend. What should I do if I have no dry food to eat?
In fact, Gu Shengtian had a few dollars on hand, which was given to him and Fubao by his mother so that they could buy some food in case they encountered any problems.
But there was money, but no food coupons.
Without food coupons, none of the state-owned restaurants outside would sell food to them!
The teacher on the stage was named Niu. Looking at the absent-minded students below, he sighed and said, "Students, save your dry food and wait for the road outside to open up."
However, the students were having trouble listening. Who would want to listen to instructions on an empty stomach?
Finally, the bell rang for the end of get out of class. Gu Shengtian walked up to Fubao dejectedly: "Fubao, what should we do?"
Fubao was very calm. She put away her notes and put her textbook and pencil case under the desk. Then she said slowly, "Eat sparingly. From now on, we'll eat half a piece of dry food per meal."
The dry food Liu Guizhi steamed for them was quite large, just enough for one meal, or two meals a day. Now they can only eat half a meal, so they can survive a few more days.
Gu Shengtian thought about it and decided that this was the only way, as he couldn't fly home to get some dry food.
At this time, Chen Cui'er also came over: "How much dry food do you have left?"
Fubao counted and said, "There are still six left. Brother Shengtian and I will be frugal and eat two a day. That's enough for three days."
Thinking about it this way, it is definitely not enough, but he has some money, so Fubao wondered if he could go to the black market to exchange for some food.
Chen Cui'er sighed, "I'm better off than you. I can exchange the cornmeal I brought back from home for dry food. But there's not much left. The cornmeal dry food I exchanged for can only provide enough for two days of meals."
Not only can they bring their own dry food, they can also carry food from home and exchange the unprocessed food for dry food from others. It is a little less expensive than making the dry food themselves, but this way they can eat fresh food.
Gu Shengtian heard this and said, "Well, I thought you were a wealthy man and we could rely on you for food, but I didn't expect you to be even worse off than us!"
What Gu Shengtian said makes sense.
Chen Cui'er's father is Chen Youfu, the team leader. No matter how the harvest is, her father will get a salary, so they live better than ordinary people. Moreover, Chen Cui'er's two brothers are now working in the team to earn work points, so her family has no shortage of food.
As for the two older brothers of the Gu family, Gu Yuejin had just been drafted and had no income yet, and Gu Yuehua was not selected to be a soldier. He originally wanted to work in the fields, but Baoni got a promotion in the mine and could take charge of some things, so she found a way to recruit Gu Yuehua as well.
Normally, the Gu family's two sons had become successful and had left the farm, so they should have had more money. However, they hadn't seen any return yet, so there was no hope. Gu Weidong had some cash on hand, but he didn't dare spend it openly. He simply gave them some money and asked them to see what they could buy. Besides, Fubao was frugal and thought the steamed food at home was delicious, so he brought his own dry food to steam.
Chen Cui'er rolled her eyes at Gu Shengtian and said, "Humph, you only know how to tease me. I'm almost starving, and you still say that!"
Fu Bao listened to the two people talking back and forth, and shook his head helplessly: "We are all going to starve. I think we should stop arguing and think of a solution."
As she said this, she quickly made a plan: "Cui'er, don't exchange the corn kernels you have for food yet. Eat what we have now. Let's save some food and endure for a few days. When we come back and see that the situation is not good, we can exchange your corn kernels for black flour steamed bread. This way we can exchange more."
If he reaches the last step and still cannot go home, he will have no choice but to use the money to buy dry food on the black market. That is too expensive, and Fubao will not be willing to do it unless it is absolutely necessary.
The older she got, the more she understood her parents' difficulties. Her three brothers would all have to find wives in the future. Without money, they couldn't find wives, and without wives, they would remain single. People like Chen Youliang, over forty, still unmarried, alone and lonely, were becoming increasingly depressed.
Of course Chen Cui'er listened to Fubao. In fact, it was not easy for several children to come to the county town from the countryside to study. They usually shared any delicious food together. When they were about to go hungry, of course they shared the hardships together.
So a few people discussed that Gu Shengtian would go to the school cafeteria to get steamed dry food, Fubao and Chen Cuier would go back to the dormitory to get pickles, and then they would go back to the classroom to eat together.
Shengyin, who happened to be passing by them, smiled and said, "What? You're out of food?"
Shengyin did very poorly on the exam when he took the junior high school entrance exam and failed miserably.
But she insisted on going to junior high school. After entering junior high school, I heard that she studied very hard and seemed like a different person. Finally, she was admitted to high school.
After entering high school, Shengyin found it difficult to keep up. In a class of 60 students, she could only rank around 40th, but she insisted on going to school regardless of rain or shine.
Of course, Nie Laosan's wife wanted Shengyin to drop out of school and help the family. Shengyin didn't know what method he used, but he actually convinced Nie Laosan's wife.
Fubao was a little puzzled about this matter.
The college entrance examination has been suspended for many years. It can be said that for rural people, studying is actually useless. If you are lucky, you can be conscripted into the army or go to the mines, but most people are not that lucky.
My brother Shengtian and I are like that because our parents want us to be educated, but Nie Lao San's wife is obviously not that kind of person.
However, Fubao was too lazy to worry about making silver. For her, as long as it did not interfere with her business, she would not worry too much.
When Chen Cui'er heard this, she saw Shengyin grinning and looking like he was enjoying the fun, so she deliberately said, "Why, are you giving us some dry food?"
Chen Cui'er and Fubao have a very good relationship, so good that they are like real sisters, but she and Shengyin don't get along very well.
She once told Fubao privately that she always felt that Shengyin was like a rat hiding in the gutter, secretly planning something bad.
Even if Shengyin was studying seriously, she felt unhappy and thought that he was not a good person.
Now several people were worried about food, and when she heard Shengyin ask this, she became even more angry.
Upon hearing this, Shengyin hugged the book in his hand and smiled. "I was really foresighted. I knew the weather would be bad recently. Last time I went home, I brought an extra nylon bag of dry food, enough for me to eat for another week. As a man, if you don't plan ahead, you will worry later. Aren't you all from well-off families? How did you end up starving?"
Chen Cuier thought to herself, bah, is he making fun of us on purpose?
She sneered in her heart and said deliberately: "We are all from the same village. Can you lend us some dry food? We are almost starving."
Shengyin looked at Fubao, then at Chen Cuier: "Have you also fallen to this point? If you want food, ask me for it, otherwise you will starve!"
Chen Cui'er: "Look at how proud you are, your tail is up in the air!"
Who cares? Who cares? Even if I’m hungry, I don’t care about eating her food!
Shengyin chuckled. "To tell you the truth, this road may be blocked for a few more days. Just endure it as long as you can. If you faint from hunger, don't accuse me, a fellow villager, of being ruthless."
Fubao looked at Shengyin and smiled. "Shengyin, thank you for your kindness, but don't worry, we have food to eat, so we won't have to ask you for help."
After saying that, he dragged the angry Chen Cui'er away.
Chen Cui'er: "Is this person looking for trouble? Who asked her for help? She came to us to cause trouble. She showed off that she had food for no reason. She showed off that she had food but she won't lend it to us? She is deliberately trying to piss us off!"
Fu Bao sighed: "Yes, she is deliberately trying to piss you off, so why are you angry about her?"
Chen Cui'er: "This person is infuriating! Just looking at her makes me want to slap her in the face."
I get angry just thinking about it, especially the smile on Shengyin's face, that kind of gloating look, as if I ran up to you to show off just because you were in trouble. It really makes me angry.
Fu Bao: "Well, is it really necessary for you to fight for such a person? Just calm down, eat first, then study hard. Then you can get a high rank in the exam and crush her to death. That's how you can vent your anger!"
Of course, Chen Cui'er felt that what Fubao said made sense, but she was still angry.
It seemed like this every time. When she was angry, Fubao could always analyze the root of the matter in the most rational way, and then do what he had to do. It seemed that he didn't care about it at all and wouldn't be angry with anyone.
She tilted her head and looked at Fubao, wondering: "Fubao, why don't you have a temper?"
Fubao: "I just think it's not necessary. Why get angry about something that's not necessary?"
Chen Cui'er: "It would be fine if I knew I shouldn't be angry and didn't get angry! Eh!"
However, Chen Cui'er quickly comforted herself that Fubao was different from her.
Yes, it's different.
When Fubao was twelve years old, she discovered that fern roots were edible, which made her famous and she became a minor celebrity. The reason for her publicity was that she was knowledgeable and scientific, but the people in Pingxi Production Brigade felt that she was born with good fortune, that she was a little Bodhisattva worshipped in the nunnery, and that she had come to Pingxi Production Brigade to protect the people.
Although everyone still calls her Fubao and jokes with her about how pretty this little girl is, in their hearts they regard her as a lucky star.
Fubao himself didn't take it too seriously. He just did what he had to do and was calm. He would carry the toilet to empty the dirty water in the morning, help wash the pots and dishes at home after dinner, and of course he would still carry a bamboo basket to the mountains to look for game, cut grass, catch insects, etc.
Gradually, everyone felt that Fubao was just an ordinary little girl like most children.
But Chen Cui'er felt that it was different.
Fubao looks different from other rural children.
Fubao, who is fifteen years old this year, has become a graceful young lady. She has lost the baby fat of her childhood. Her skin is as white as snow, her eyebrows and eyes are picturesque, and she is as exquisite as the beauties in ancient costumes in the illustrations of art textbooks.
For example, now, she was looking at him with a smile, her almond-shaped eyes were like a spring in the mountains after a spring rain, clear and gentle, which made people's originally irritable and angry hearts slowly calm down after seeing them.
If you think about it carefully, it seems so. There are many annoying people in this world, but that is none of your business. Why get angry with them? It is not worth it to make yourself hurt by getting angry.
Chen Cui'er immediately calmed down, took Fubao's hand, and happily returned to the dormitory.
The two of them were from the same village and lived in the same dormitory, so they were as close as one person. They shared many things, such as soap for bathing, which they would buy one piece and use slowly together.
Shang Xianghong, who lives in the same dormitory, was packing up to go home. Although she also lived on campus, her home was in the city, so it was convenient for her to go home.
She saw Chen Cui'er and Fubao taking out a bag from under the bed and knew that the bag contained their pickles, so she said, "Do you have enough dry food? If not, I'll see if I can bring some from home. At worst, you can return it to me later."
Fubao looked at Shang Xianghong gratefully: "Xianghong, thank you, but we still have enough to eat now. If we really reach the end of our rope, I won't be polite!"
This made Shang Xianghong laugh: "Why are you being so polite to me? You often help me with my homework, and I haven't even thanked you yet!"
At this time, Chen Cui'er had already taken out a piece of pickled vegetable, which was a pickled radish. "This pickled radish is not too salty. My mother said it can be eaten as a vegetable. If you are hungry, drink more water and it will be enough to fill you up. I still have a lot here. Let's take a few more pieces."
Fubao took a look and said, "Okay, take it. Let's eat less dry food and more of this."
The two said goodbye to Shang Xianghong and returned to the classroom. By this time, Gu Shengtian had already brought the dry food. The canteen's large pot was steaming hot, and the dry food was cooked thoroughly, steaming in the cold wind.
As Gu Shengtian spoke, white mist came out of his nose: "We have steamed two pieces of dry food, one with three pieces, and each person eats two-thirds."
So several people gathered around Fubao's desk and started to distribute dry food. It was cornmeal dry food, so hot that no one dared to touch it. Several people blew on it, afraid of being burned, but also greedily wanting to eat it. Everyone looked at each other's greedy looks and couldn't help laughing.
As I was laughing, I saw Shengyin on the other side of the classroom eating dry food with a smacking sound, enjoying a large piece by himself.
She deliberately made a smacking sound with her mouth, as if the food was enjoying the food very much.
Chen Cui'er curled her lips and muttered softly, "What kind of person is this!"
Fubao glanced at Shengyin indifferently, too lazy to pay attention to him. He divided the two cornmeal buns among the three of them, one for each of them, and ate together.
I had just taken two bites when I heard a boy outside ask, "Classmate, is Gu Danyang in this classroom?"
A classmate next to him casually pointed and said, "They're eating inside!"
Fubao thought the voice sounded familiar and looked over in confusion, and it was Li Jianbai.
Li Jianbai was wearing a thick blue sweater with a high collar, and on the outside was what should be his Mao suit that he had taken off. He looked clean and refreshing.
When he saw Fubao sitting in the classroom, he was slightly startled, and then his expression returned to his previous calm look: "Come out for a moment."
Fubao and Li Jianbai are not familiar with each other.
A few years ago, she came to the county because of an award and had a meal at Li Mingshuan's house. It was Li Jianbai who sent her out.
The next time they met was when she was in high school. Li Mingshuan's lover, Aunt Sun, called her over and they met again. She found out that Li Jianbai and she were classmates in the same school but in different classes, but they still had nothing to talk about.
Including this time, it’s only the third time.
Fubao couldn't understand why he suddenly came to see him?
Chen Cui'er saw Li Jianbai and asked in a low voice: "Who is this? She looks pretty good."
Fubao said casually: "I've seen it twice before, I don't know what's going on, I'll go out and take a look, you guys eat first."
Having said that, she went out of the classroom.
Li Jianbai raised his hand: "This is for you."
Only then did Fubao see that he was holding a nylon plastic bag in his hand, which was probably full of food.
Fu Bao was puzzled: "Give it to me?"
Li Jianbai: "My father said that the county has issued a blockade order and the roads are blocked. He said that you might not be able to go home to get dry food. My mother asked me to bring this to you so that you won't starve."
Fu Baowan had not expected this to happen. After all, she and Li Mingshuan and Sun Aihua were not familiar with each other and had only met two or three times. Moreover, each time it was they who helped her. She felt embarrassed. "Uncle and aunt are really good to me, but I still have food now. Food is hard to come by. You can take it back and tell aunt that I appreciate it. If I ever get hungry, I will go find uncle and aunt."
Li Jianbai frowned.
When he frowned, his thick black eyebrows were not as sharp as before.
Chen Cui'er said that she looks pretty good.
Li Jianbai was indeed good-looking. Ever since Fubao first saw him at Li Mingshuan's house, he had thought this boy was truly handsome. He could be described as having sharp eyebrows and bright eyes as described in books. He was also tall, and his narrow shoulders made him look even taller and straighter.
But a good-looking boy is not necessarily a likable boy. Fubao feels that this person is not easy to get along with and may look down on others.
Li Jianbai: "Three people sharing a piece of dry food, is this what you call 'still having something to eat'?"
He saw clearly that the three people ate the food pitifully.
The lie was exposed on the spot, but Fu Bao raised his chin without blushing or breathing heavily, and said: "You are wrong, it is two pieces of dry food for three people."
Looking at the girl's proud expression, Li Jianbai raised his thick eyebrows slightly: "Three people share two pieces... Is that a lot?"
Fubao: "It doesn't matter if it's a lot or not, as long as I don't feel hungry after eating it!"
Li Jianbai looked at Fubao without saying anything.
Fubao: "Nothing, I'll go back to eat first."
Li Jianbai raised his hand and stuffed the nylon net bag directly into Fubao's hand: "This is the task my mother assigned to me. There is no way I won't complete it. If you really don't want to do it, then go to my house and find my mother!"
Fubao didn't have time to hide. He looked at the heavy bag in his hand and said, "Hey, slow down—"
Li Jianbai was about to leave when he turned back after hearing this: "Don't give me that. Just eat it if I give it to you. If my mother really has to bring it to you, she'll be angry if you don't eat it."
Fubao thinks so...
Li Mingshuan and Sun Aihua were really nice to me, but if I kept rejecting them, it would seem like I didn't appreciate their kindness.
Li Jianbai looked at Fubao's hesitant expression and said, "My family doesn't lack this little bit of dry food, so just eat it if you want."
Looking around, he suddenly lowered his voice and said, "By the way, don't mention or ask about the city lockdown."
After saying that, he left.
Fubao was stunned, thinking about what Li Jianbai said, what exactly did he mean?
She frowned, thinking of the news she had heard on the radio before. She vaguely felt that something was wrong with the broadcast. Is this... going to change?
She stood there for a while, her hands aching from the cold, and then she woke up.
In fact, these things have little to do with her. Even if the county town is sealed off, it cannot be sealed forever. The city is dead, but people are alive. She is so old, she will not starve to death if she finds a way to fill her stomach.
He weighed the dry food and found it was quite a lot. With these, he, his brother Shengtian and Cui'er would at least not have to suffer too much in their stomachs.
As for the favors owed to Uncle Li and Aunt Sun, I can repay them slowly in the future, or use the money I have to buy something to give to them.
I returned to the classroom with dry food. At this time, some of the other people in the classroom had already eaten and were cleaning up the tables or going back to the dormitory with their sleeves tucked in. There were not many people in the classroom.
Chen Cui'er looked at the nylon bag in Fubao's hand in surprise: "What is this?"
Gu Shengtian, the greedy one, for once wasn't concerned about the food in his nylon bag, but instead was concerned about the boy: "Fubao, who is he? Why did he give you something delicious? How do you know him?"
Who would give you so many delicious foods for no reason? Don’t tell me he has any bad intentions!
Fubao looked around and saw that there were few classmates around. He lowered his voice and said, "His name is Li Jianbai. He's from Class 4, Grade 1. He's the son of Secretary Li Mingshuan. Secretary Li Mingshuan sent us some food this time. Let him deliver it."
Chen Cui'er and Gu Shengtian were shocked when they heard it.
Of course Chen Cui'er knew Li Mingshuan. In her father's words, he was the superior of his superior and a very important figure.
Of course Gu Shengtian also knew Li Mingshuan. His father won that award because of Li Mingshuan. His grandmother always said that Li Mingshuan was a good and honest official who worked hard for the people!
"Fubao, Secretary Li is so nice to you that he even sent you food?"
Although Fubao told them that Secretary Li Mingshuan's lover had invited her to dinner, they still felt that he was an unattainable person.
"Nothing, Secretary Li is a good man who loves the people like his own children." Fubao didn't want to talk about it, especially since the silver was still nearby. She said calmly, "Let's see what's inside and eat something."
After realizing that this was Secretary Li Mingshuan's son and therefore had no ill intentions, Gu Shengtian immediately rushed to open the net bag.
“Wow, this is fried dough sticks!”
"This is a yeast pancake!"
"And lard, lard! This is delicious!"
Lard is the oil extracted from pork. This oil will condense into a white ointment in winter. It is mixed with some minced meat and salt. When there is no vegetable in winter, you can scoop out some with a spoon and put it in soft steamed buns. It is especially fragrant.
These are delicious things that they rarely get to eat!
Fubao felt a little regretful when she looked at the pile of things. If she had known that the food was like this, she would never have kept it.
But since she had already stayed, she began to think about how to repay this favor in the future.
Chen Cui'er and Gu Shengtian didn't think too much about it, they were already drooling.
Fubao looked at them and burst out laughing: "Forget it, eat, eat, let's share the fried dough sticks first!"
The two greedy guys responded simply: "Okay!"
The rich aroma of fried dough sticks spread throughout the classroom. Shengyin, who was munching on some dry food and pickles, suddenly felt that his dry food tasted bland.
I can't eat anymore.
She looked at Fubao with a sour look as he ate a hot cornmeal bun with fried dough sticks, and she couldn't help but start to doubt.
Why did she hook up with Li Mingshuan's family?
Secretary Li Mingshuan later...it seemed like he could be promoted further?
She thought about it and suddenly felt uncomfortable.
How come Fubao always encounters good things from noble people?
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